Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Bible Doctrine Series-Jehovah-M'Kaddesh

Jehovah-M’Kaddesh. The Hebrew word m’kaddesh means “to purify, cleanse, set apart as sacred; to declare holy and consecrated to God.” Jehovah-M’kaddesh is the Lord who makes us holy. Repeatedly in Scripture we are reminded of the awesomeness of our God. Moses was instructed to remove his shoes in the presence of a holy God. Only the high priest could enter into God’s holy presence once as year, and then, he was required to be covered with a blood sacrifice for his sin. David declares the holiness of his God. Psalm 103:1 “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”
Merrill C. Tenney says this about holiness: “Holiness is first applied to God, and is early associated with ideas of purity and righteousness….Holiness means the pure, loving nature of God, separate from evil.” In the Old Testament, people were instructed to offer something to God. In the New Testament, we are to be that living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice offered to God. Paul concluded that such action on the part of a believer was reasonable. In Christ we were not only accepted, but made acceptable. We were made the very righteousness of God in Him, born-again as a new species with the character and nature of God’s holiness. We are now to work out what is true within.
Note: In many cases the Jehovah of the Old Testament is none other than the Jesus of the New Testament. Cf. Isaiah 40:3 with Matthew 3:5; Numbers 21:5-6 with 1 Corinthians 10:9. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.